Lani Says: Put on Fresh Paint

I am a bookworm, with a special place in my heart for studying. But my love for school extends beyond academics. In fact, extracurricular activities are really my favorite subjects. I have been active in the Associative Student Body, the Sophomore Class Club and the drill team.

These activities are only a few of the clubs offered at Eagle Rock High School. There truly is something for everyone, so it’s rare to find a student not involved in at least one extracurricular, whether it’s senior-class movie night, the marching band lollipop sale, after-school volleyball tryouts, Robotics or the Model UN.

It can be hard to keep track of everything that’s going on, but in case you forget, walls and lockers are plastered with flyers and posters, not to mention the eye level reminders posted in the bathroom stalls.

The effort that goes into extracurricular activities is easily overlooked because they are voluntary and almost entirely run by students. I think one of the reasons they are so popular is that the work that goes into these extra tasks is as temporary as it is optional, which makes them a sort of comfort. It’s less of an obligation and more of an escape. Taking on an extracurricular activity puts yet another item on our too long to-do lists of outlines, flashcards, homework, tests and pop quizzes. But it’s an item we seek to cross off happily.

Along the way, extracurriculars teach important things: How to lead an effort and how to be a reliable participant, how to speak clearly to one another, and, yes, how to hang streamers like it’s nobody’s business. Over-studying leads to fantasies of burning the textbooks. Extra curriculars put the fun into burning the midnight oil, as we work on that unfinished poster that really needs to get done by tomorrow.

There are no futile efforts in extracurricular activities. The puffy paint on puffy fingers being looked at with puffy eyes helps us realize the value of the education that allows them to happen in the first place.

School work is rigorous and competitive. The stress of getting into college is ever present. Extracurriculars provide the counterweight, the balance, the life lessons, the fun. There’s pride in our tired eyes and paint-stained hands and hair. We wouldn’t want it any other way.